Friday Reads #3: The Creation of Anne Boleyn

It’s Friday, which means it’s time for another installment of my Friday Reads series; setting you up for a great weekend of reading. This week’s book is The Creation of Anne Boleyn by Susan Bordo.

I’ve been interested in Tudor England since I discovered The Royal Diaries series as a kid. Since then, I’ve certainly read more Tudor literature (fiction and non) than your average person. Expect to see more Tudor books in future Friday Reads installments.

The Creation of Anne Boleyn still taught me quite a bit. Or perhaps I should say that it made me reevaluate existing knowledge and look at it in a new way. My biggest takeaway from the book was that we don’t have an unbiased, contemporary “portrait” of Anne as a person.

You have either the slanderous views of those who were staunchly against “the Great Whore”, the overly flattering views of those who supported Anne during her rise and when her daughter was queen, or attempts — many years after her death — to put together her story from vaguely remembered anecdotes passed down from parent to child. None of them have much hope of giving us a glimpse into the real Anne Boleyn.

Now, logically, this is something I already knew. Of course the people who liked and disliked Anne would give skewed opinions, but I never really gave much thought to how that shaped the lasting image of Anne herself. I also never really considered how more recent history, culture, and expectations have shaped “Anne Boleyn”.

Susan Bordo has thought about all of this, and she presents her findings and her thoughts in an interesting and entertaining way. The Creation of Anne Boleyn made me think, really think, about just how little we truly know about historical figures. And I wonder just how much of what we think we know is just the persona that people have built around famous and infamous people over the years, decades, and centuries.

Have you read The Creation of Anne Boleyn? Did you like it? What about Tudor history in general?

Check out last week’s Friday Reads, Love You Forever, and come back next week for another awesome book.